The Richmond Flying Squirrels clinched the Eastern League Southwest Division First-Half championship on Sunday afternoon with a 7-2 win over the Portland Sea Dogs.
The win along with a loss by the Akron RubberDucks against the Harrisburg Senators gave the Flying Squirrels (40-29) the division crown. For the first time since 2014, Richmond locked in a spot in the Eastern League playoffs, which will take place in September.
Kyle Harrison (Win, 2-1) set a Double-A high with 11 strikeouts over a career-high-tying seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk.
The Flying Squirrels took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Sean Roby scored on a Portland throwing error.
The Sea Dogs (30-39) tied the game in the top of the third inning with a solo home run by Nick Sogard. Hudson Potts gave Portland a 2-1 lead in the fourth.
Roby hit a two-run homer, his 19th of the season, in the bottom of the fourth to put the Flying Squirrels ahead, 3-2, against Portland’s Jay Groome (Loss, 3-4).
Richmond scored four runs in the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 6-2. Diego Rincones hit an RBI double, Roby brought home a run with a single and Frankie Tostado scored on a wild pitch.
Mike Gigliotti extended the lead to 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single.
Cole Waites worked a scoreless eighth inning and R.J. Dabovich navigated the ninth to finish the game.
Roby finished the day 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Information about tickets for the 2022 Eastern League playoffs will be announced at a later date.
After a road trip to Bowie next week, the Flying Squirrels return home on July 4 for their Independence Day celebration to face the Reading Fightin Phils. A limited number of remaining tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
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